ANSON -- Cousineau Wood Products is one step closer to employing five to 10 more workers after selectmen stamped their approval Tuesday night for the final round of a business assistance grant.

With the $60,000 matching grant from the Community Development Block Grant program, the wood processing facility would be able to install its own machinery to dye and dry laminated wood products, said human resource and safety manager Carlton Haggan.

And the company would add five to 10 more employees -- mostly full-time, Haggan said. The business currently employs 17 full- and part-time workers.

"It would definitely be an improvement on the local economy. We definitely want to hire local," Haggan said.

The company's wood is used in the production of gunstocks, baseball bats, cribbage boards, plaques, duck calls, paddles, furniture components and flooring, among other things.

Now, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development needs to approve the paperwork, and then the department and the community will sign a contract, said Jim Batey, executive director of the Somerset Economic Development Corp.

Next, the state awards the grant to the community, which hands it to the business, Batey said. Cousineau Wood is then required to match the grant and create the jobs described in the application.

The company hopes to have new employees trained and the new equipment running by the middle of next year, Haggan said.

The facility currently buys dyed veneer from Canada, Haggan said. If the company can dye its own veneer, it will have more control over the quality, and will presumably see more profits.

Cousineau Wood is located at 3 Valley Road on a 75-acre parcel in North Anson, with its own railroad access. The business stopped production at its sawmill about a year ago because of the economy, Haggan said.

Three generations of Cousineaus have run the company since its beginning 50 years ago, including Ernest Cousineau and his wife Velma, their son Randal and his children Brandi and Brody.

"We've shed a lot of manufacturing jobs over the past 10 years in Somerset County, in Maine and in the U.S. Any time we can add manufacturing jobs, it's a good thing," Batey said. "The manufacturing sector is very distressed nationwide. (The grant) is a small victory, but it's a victory."

Erin Rhoda -- 474-9534

erhoda@mainetoday.com